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posted by martyb on Tuesday September 01 2020, @06:23PM   Printer-friendly
from the yummy-yummy-in-my-tummy? dept.

Study finds insect shows promise as a good, sustainable food source:

With global food demands rising at an alarming rate, a study led by IUPUI [( Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis)] scientists has found new evidence that a previously overlooked insect shows promise as alternative protein source: the yellow mealworm.

The research is based upon a new analysis of the genome of the mealworm species Tenebrio molitor led by Christine Picard, associate professor of biology and director in Forensic and Investigative Sciences program at the School of Science at IUPUI.

[...] "Human populations are continuing to increase and the stress on protein production is increasing at an unsustainable rate, not even considering climate change," said Picard, whose lab focuses on the use of insects to address global food demand.

The research, conducted in partnership with Beta Hatch Inc., has found the yellow mealworm—historically a pest—can provide benefit in a wide range of agriculture applications. Not only can it can be used as an alternative source of protein for animals including fish, but its waste is also ideal as organic fertilizer.

[...] "Mealworms, being insects, are a part of the natural diet of many organisms," said Picard. "Fish enjoy mealworms, for example. They could also be really useful in the pet food industry as an alternative protein source. Chickens like insects—and maybe one day humans will, too, because it's an alternative source of protein."

Journal Reference:
T. Eriksson, et al. The yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) genome: a resource for the emerging insects as food and feed industry [open], Journal of Insects as Food and Feed (DOI: 10.3920/jiff2019.0057)


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  • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 02 2020, @12:33PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 02 2020, @12:33PM (#1045339)

    Right now there's no reason for anybody to go hungry other than politics. That's not necessarily the case. It's going to depend on things like how quickly the world population stops growing. It's also going to depend on how the weather changes, if the areas that are easiest to irrigate no longer get enough rain and the rain gets shifted to areas that are more concentrated, you could easily start to see issues with food production. I'm not sure why all the idiots on the right seem to think that we should wait until it is a disaster to start working to avoid it.

    It's entirely possible that by the time this sort of thing does become an issue that the population will be dropping anyways. But, by the same token, the kind of ignorant views that would have us delay action until it's clear that we have to is why we're likely to need to. Had we addressed our emissions back in the '70s rather than allowing for the fossil fuel industry to gaslight us, the pain and suffering of cutting back would have been significantly less. Not only would we have had nearly 50 years of reduced emissions, we also wouldn't have had as much increase in the amount of emissions. In both areas we would have more room for making changes that would be less painful.

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  • (Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Wednesday September 02 2020, @02:10PM

    by fustakrakich (6150) on Wednesday September 02 2020, @02:10PM (#1045375) Journal

    It's going to depend on things like how quickly the world population stops growing.

    No, it's not. We already produce far beyond what is needed for everybody on the planet. It's all about the supply chain and how it's run. All technical issues have been solved a long time ago, including the pollution issues. Those too are caused by corrupt politics, by greedy people that don't give a shit.

    --
    La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..